This was originally the blog of a first-time Mum to remember the ups and downs of my pregnancy - and chart the first year of my daughter's life. But I've kept it going, and am now a mother of two! More than anything, it helps me to get to sleep once I've emptied my brain of issues and concerns and emotions onto the laptop.
If you're reading this and also a mum- or dad-to-be, first time parent, or just someone who's thinking about it - I hope it gives a little insight into one person's experiences - good and bad....

Saturday 2 July 2011

Super Mario Charlotte

I've decided - with my entire one week's experience - that a newborn baby is much like a computer game. Trial and error to see which buttons to press and which avenues to follow to take us to the next level.

My OH and her grandparents didn't much like that analogy when I put it to them at lunch. Lunch also happened to be Charlotte's first trip to a pub! The first of many (responsible trips), I hope. She was a bit unsettled in the pram today and wanted an extra feed which I managed in a quiet corner of the pub. Only one week old, and I can't believe I've already breastfed her in public.



It was her grandparents' (my parents) second visit since she was born and they say they can see how much she is thriving. And how much progress we have made. They - and my OH and myself - can also tell she's put on weight already. While I'm obviously thrilled that it shows the feeding's going well, it also frightens me that she'll never ever be this tiny again, and I really am trying to savour every moment.

It's possible she may be going through her expected growth spurt a couple of days early. It would certainly account for all the extra 'snacking' feeds she's demanding. If that's the case - I'll just keep feeding her whenever she wants and see if it settles down in a few days.

We've also made a bit of a leap forward with the Moses basket. After observing how best she sleeps I decided to try putting her in on her side. It's another of those controversial areas where the militant 'experts' say babies should ONLY be put on their back. But she always gravitates to her side anyway, and there's plenty of anecdotal evidence of babies only settling to sleep on their sides.

If I'm honest, I feel more guilty about this than any of the feeding issues. I will be keeping a very close eye on her whenever she's sleeping in the Moses basket to start with just to make there's no tendency to move onto her front (doesn't look remotely possible at this stage, but you can never be too sure). And remember- when I was a baby, we were all put on our fronts... yet more advice to totally change in the past three decades.

So I tried it - with a rolled up blanket behind her to stop her rolling onto her back and waking herself up - and we've managed up to an hour and a quarter, which feels like a breakthrough. It's only happened the once, with an odd 25 minutes-1 hour here and there since, but her fractious sleep may well be just as much to do with her growth spurt than where she's being put down to sleep.

Incidentally, keeping this blog is helping to keep me sane. It really helps to process the myriad thoughts in my head, and empty them out into cyberspace before trying to get my head down for that odd hour or two's nap.

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